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Originally Posted On: https://www.kalileivacations.com/7-factors-to-consider-when-planning-family-vacations/
Are you in the process of planning a family vacation? Are you worried that you are going to end up missing some key thing and ruin things for everyone in your family? Don’t worry!
Yes, planning family vacations can be stressful if you don’t take into account certain important factors. But with this guide, you will be well on your way to having the best family vacation of your life! Keep reading.
1. Think about Flight Times
Most people are only thinking about getting the cheapest flight when they book vacations for families. But that’s a big mistake since you might end up with flights that leave in the middle of the night OR arrive in the middle of the night at your destination. Both these situations will end up causing you great strife.
The ideal flight will leave at around mid-morning or noon, so you have time to have breakfast and relax before rushing to the airport. And it will arrive at your destination right in time for check-in, around 4 or 5 pm. Not too late, so you aren’t confusedly trying to find your way to your hotel in the dark. But not too early either, so you aren’t waiting around to check in.
2. Book a Great Accommodation
The adage, ‘Location, location, location,’ doesn’t only apply to real estate. It’s also quite applicable to family vacations. When looking at options for hotels, always ensure that your hotel is situated in a great location, at a midway point to everything you would want to see.
It’s worth paying a bit extra for your accommodation if it means you won’t be spending hours and hours trudging around on subway stations or buses trying to get to all the sightseeing hotspots. It also means you and your children will be less exhausted at night, which is definitely a bonus. You don’t want to deal with cranky and tired children, while you yourself are pooped.
3. Think about Your Family Vacation Budget
You probably have a number in your head for how much you want to spend on your vacation. Try as hard as you can to stick to it, but remember that rule of travel – always bring twice as much money as you think you will need and half as much stuff as you think you will need.
Don’t become too strict or crazy about sticking to the budget, because that might ruin your family’s mood. A few indulgences here and there should be accounted for in your family vacation budget.
4. Don’t Forget about Activities for Kids
If you have teenagers who are capable of entertaining themselves, then you might not need to worry about this. But if you have young children, then you need to think about how you are going to entertain your children while on your family vacation. You will need to find things for them to do, not only at the hotel but also while you are moving about from city to city.
5. Consider Renting a Car
If you are planning on moving around a lot, and you know that you are comfortable driving on the streets of your destination, then consider renting a car. Not having to figure out subway systems, or bus systems, and not having to carry lots of weight around with you, is so worth it.
You can have extra food, clothes, and other necessary items in the car, and feel more secure while traveling around. It also means that you will have extra energy to burn when you get to your hotel at night. A family vacation isn’t just about seeing the hot spots, but also about forming deep bonds with your children and partner. The more energy you have, the easier this will be.
6. Ensure Your Home Is Safe and Secure
You don’t want to spend half your vacation wondering if your home is safe and secure or if you switched off the stove or not. These kinds of parasite thoughts will ruin your vacation for you, as you won’t be able to be in the present moment and really be with your family.
Of course, one of the ways you can do this is by having a home security system that you trust. But also, you could find a house sitter who could take care of your house and house plants while you are gone. This will put you in a safe space of mind and allow you to really enjoy the vacation.
7. Remember You Can’t Take Care Of Everything
Even though you want things to be absolutely perfect on your vacation, remember that you CANNOT take care of everything. It’s Murphy’s Law that what can go wrong, will go wrong. And this is especially true on a family vacation.
Do what you can. Take care of all the details that you can think of. And then leave the rest up to fate. You can’t do anything about it anyway, so what’s the point of worrying about it?
You could also have a little extra cushion in your family vacation budget to take care of these unexpected eventualities. As long as your vacation is close to perfect, you can rest assured that you did a great job planning it.
Planning Family Vacations Made Easy
The next time you are planning family vacations, use the tips above to make the process run as smoothly as possible. But if you are thinking that you would like some help with your family vacation budget, then consider using a travel incentive from Kalilei Vacations. This also applies if you are a business looking for travel vouchers for your employees.
There are numerous incentives and vacation vouchers for resorts all over the United States. Don’t wait. Get your discounted vacation today!